Whips gain confidence in 2-OT win
Senior leadership is invaluable in close games and with just one senior on its roster, Hampshire's girls basketball team got just that Friday afternoon at the 20th Annual Geneva Thanksgiving Tournament.
Oh, and the younger players helped out the Whip-Purs a little, too.
Senior Mallory Koster buried a 12-footer to beat the regulation buzzer and tie the game, then the Whips went on to beat Wheaton North 69-61 in double overtime.
Hampshire (2-2) will take on Antioch in today's fifth place game at 2:30 p.m. Wheaton North (1-2) closes out tournament action against Elgin at 1 p.m.
"We just played with a lot of heart and determination today," said Koster, who had 18 points and 8 rebounds on the day. "We executed. It's a team sport and I love it when we're able to execute our plays."
Koster tied the game off a perfect feed from junior point guard Gianina Estocado, who also scored 18 points while dishing out 5 assists and nabbing 5 steals.
"She hit a couple of 3s and made some great passes," said Hampshire coach Sue Ellett of Estocado. "She jump-started us nicely."
That jump start was needed as Wheaton North bolted to a 15-5 lead after one quarter. The Falcons still held a 22-13 advantage with 2:02 left in the first half when Hampshire went on a 9-0 run to tie the game by break time. Estocado scored 7 points during that stretch.
Neither team held more than a 4-point lead through the third and fourth quarters and first overtime, but then foul trouble and the precise free throw shooting of Hampshire sophomore Chrissy Heine caught up with Wheaton North.
With two Falcon starters on the bench fouled out, Hampshire showed more resiliency in the end, scoring the first 6 points of the second OT period and never looking back. Heine sealed the win by nailing 5 of 5 from the line down the stretch as she scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. She came just 1 free throw short of tying the tournament record set by Elmwood Park's Ashley Obrest in 2001.
Senior Michelle Scandora led the Falcons with 18 points while Allie Cerone added 13 and Madison Goudy 11.
"It didn't go the way we wanted it to," said Falcons coach David Eaton. "We had some foul trouble and had some starters on the bench. We needed some people to step up off the bench and we didn't have that experience.
"(Hampshire) has some nice players. They hit some shots but we needed to do a better job defensively."
Ellett was more than pleased with her team's effort and agreed the confidence boost was needed as her team moves on without two-time all-area player Jaclyn Clai, who quit the team earlier this week.
"The heart and determination these kids have played with the last couple games has made it fun to coach them," Ellett said. "Sometimes I don't think people give team chemistry enough credit. That was a great quality win for us.
"This is a young team and when you play your hearts out like we did against Providence (a 55-46 loss on Tuesday) and today, you need to come out with a win to keep that heart going."
The Whips also got a stellar defensive effort from Cassie Dumoulin and Kely Plichta, along with valuable contributions from Kelsey Watson, who had 6 rebounds.
Antioch 55, Elgin 46: Ahead 22-21 at halftime, Elgin (0-4) couldn't hang on and lost for the third straight time in the Geneva tournament. The Maroons will play Wheaton North at 1 p.m. today for seventh place.
Ellen Holton scored 18 points to lead Elgin while Kayla Jackson added 9.
Huntley 51, Naperville North 40: At the Waubonsie Valley Lady Warhawk Thanksgiving Tournament, the Red Raiders(2-1) gained another victory as they defeated Naperville North. Huntley was led by Katie Bergquist, who had a game-high 22 points as well as 5 steals. Shannon Callahan added 8 points while teammate Megan Martinez added 7 points for Huntley.
Willows Academy 38, Elgin Academy 34: At the Elgin Academy tournament the Hilltoppers (2-2) fell to Willows Academy. Bianca Swegler led the Hilltoppers with 9 points. Lauren Steimle(8 points, 8 rebounds) and Alyssa Pena (7 points, 10 rebounds) each contributed for Elgin Academy.
Benet 51, Bartlett 37: Despite the Hawks' loss to Bartlett at the Naperville Central/Benet Tournament, freshman Jackie Gulczynski had a good game with 14 points with 8 rebounds. Becca Cronin also added 10 points for Bartlett (0-4).
Maine South 47, Crystal Lake South 39:ΠThe Gators (2-2) fell to Maine South at the Bison Classic. Carly Juliano led the Gators with 11 points.
Hinsdale South 48, Larkin 21: Sophie Sterricker led the Royals (0-4) with 6 points in this loss at the Hinsdale South tournament.